OCM Newsletter December 2017 OCM Newsletter April - June 2019 | Page 6

MAINTAINING AN ENGAGED SELF We all would like to work in a department where employee engagement is high. The department holds regular meetings, your suggestions are considered, you get along well with colleagues and overall you can see that your work objectives are aligned to not only the department’s goals, but to the company’s overall objectives. For some employees at the OCM Group, the above occurs and healthy discussions on how goals can be achieved are discussed. However, for others, employees may opt for a “stay in your corner” attitude, remaining silent on critical issues, reporting for duty at 8:00 am and leaving at 4:00 pm. That approach simply will not work because an engaging work environment requires employee and employer involvement. It is a two-way street. Please allow me to suggest some simple steps for improving your own level of engagement: Be in the know - read and discuss the OCM Annual Report One of the first steps to remaining engaged is to know what is happening at your company. The OCM Group publishes its Annual Report yearly. The Report informs shareholders, like yourself on the status of the Group such as: • Investments that the Group made in the prior year. Based on the investments, you may have an idea/ suggestion on how the Group can improve in the day to day operations. • The direction that the Group is heading. Please visit our website at www.ocmgroup. co to view the 2018 OCM Annual Report. Read your internal newsletter or notices. OCM’s Newsletter ‘One’ seeks to inform you of new initiatives, executives appointments that occurred across the PAGE 6 | APRIL TO JUNE 2019 Group, and other corporate activities, that may not be featured in the Annual Report. This is another avenue where information is communicated. Similarly, information is also shared and posted on your Department’s notice boards. Read them and ask questions. New Ideas Discuss with your department heads and colleagues at departmental meetings, new trends or ideas that can be useful to improve the way your department operates. Be Inspired/ Be an Inspiration We live in a hectic environment. The hustle and bustle of everyday life, family commitments, or pursuing a higher degree, impacts on your time and energy. Therefore, to be inspired can be challenging at times. However, • If possible, share your passion. Share what your goals mean to you personally and what excites you about accomplishing them. • Show colleagues how they are making a difference. Bring the value of the company to life by sharing positive customer feedback in emails, and with visuals throughout the department. • Celebrate Achievements. When individuals or teams achieve interim goals, recognize them publicly. Send thank you notes to those involved. At your departmental meeting, find a fun way to bring your colleagues together in a fun way. Be Engaged not just Involved In the end, being informed and being inspired lays the foundation for an engaged employee. Therefore: • Give and get feedback; • Celebrate your colleagues and your team’s individual and team success; • Highlight team accomplishments and link them to the company’s strategy; • Participate and support employee initiatives, such as Family and Sports Day, Hiking etc, Marathons, or internal initiatives such as Karaoke competitions; and also • Participate in informal events where you can socialize with your colleagues in an external setting so that you can get to know one another outside of the working environment. Finally, regardless of an employee’s age, generation or service to the Organisation, all employees want the same things in order to feel a part of the team, namely: • Respect and trust • Clarity of job expectations • To be heard and understood • To be acknowledged for your contributions For the next quarter, I hope that you will consider these suggestions, and daily seek out ways to become more engaged at OCM. Good Luck and see you in the next issue of ‘One’. Michele Smith, MBA Corporate Engagement Officer OCM Group We would love to hear from you. To provide feedback or suggestions on employee engagement, kindly email us at [email protected]